Best Cam For My Set Up?

Max22

Member
Jul 1, 2015
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I know this has been beat to death in the past but it's now 2016, companies have come an gone an a lot has changed since the old threads on this.

I'm looking for the best cam for my PI swapped 96 Gt. I have a PI intake, LTs, X pipe, cat delete, throttle body & plenum, and full CAI system. I'm looking to go supercharger somewhere down the line.

I want a cam that'll give me good power for the price and I don't want to have to notch my Pistons an switch my valves but I'm not opposed changing my springs. Stage 3s usually seem too extreme but I guess it all depends. Also my motor can only spin to 6k and I want low end over top end.

Thanks
 
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A PI swap including PI heads and cams? I'd be inclined to leave it as is. The mild cams won't gain you much and a more aggressive will lead you to the path of doing the work you don';t want to do. Save the money for the future supercharger.
 
Yup it included the PI heads and cams. Alright I'll resist the urge and just save for the supercharger. I wasn't sure on my best option because cams don't seem like a popular mod on the 2v 4.6 and I wasn't sure why?
 
In a way I agree with coramprat. There are people who swap cams, then decide to supercharge later because they want more. Some people are over their head doing a cam swap, even though it's really not that hard to do. If you're diehard n/a, cams will definitely help, but an aggressive n/a cam won't work as well with a supercharger. If you're certain you want an all out s/C setup, cams will help you get there, but keep in mind even with stock cams a pullied blower can be pushing a stock bottom end. Blower cams will make more power with the same pulley, with lower IATs and less boost pressure in the combustion chamber. It's really up to your overall goal for the car. Make a plan and keep doing things with the final goal in mind.
 
I am planning on doing a full FI supercharger system at some point. I've looked into how much our engine can hold and it seemed like I'd be okay with 6-8 lbs of boost but obviously it'll all depend on how it lines up. How do blower cams run without actually having a blower? I figure if anything it would hurt my performance right now being NA. I'll go forged if I have to but I was under the impression that the stock internals are good to 400-450hp and that's my goal for this car is in the 4-450 range when it's all said and done.
 
Cams are not popular because they are expensive on these cars. I swapped to Comp 262's on my old 96 but I bought them lightly used and did the swap myself. If you buy new and get a shop to do it you are looking at around $2500-3000 for about 40-50HP. A supercharger will get you way better than that. Now a blower grind with a supercharger will get you more HP but with the internals being stock you would be on borrowed time.
 
Ah yeah I didn't know what people's thoughts on stock internals an low boost were. But yeah I'd never take it to a shop for any of that. I figure I'll weigh my options more when the time comes.
 
Listen to someone who knows about these cars.

First of all, do NOT look at cams so that you can brag about making peak HP. Peak HP doesnt mean :poo:. Cams need to alter your powerband in order to get the absolute best performance out of the motor.

You need to make a decision, NA cams are VERY different than supercharged or turbo cams. If you chose to cam you car while being NA, they will loose a lot of efficiency once to go FI. If you are TRULY going FI in the future, wait until then to get cams
 
Why would I buy a cam just to brag about specs? I'm just trying to get a good feel of my options so when I go FI (and I will eventually) I don't have issues with a previously purchased cam.
 
I agree with the others, but I think IMO that 450 is pushing it on a stock bottom end no matter what the combo. make sure you get a very good tune at that level. Blower cams in an NA car would still be an improvement over stock, but it leaves a bit on the table. I'm a fan of mhs cams, that's the route I'll go when I put my Roush SC on. Is it necessary? No. It's just what I want to do. COramprat is right, expense is definitely a factor as well. If I only had money for an intercooler or a set of cams, I'd want the lower IATs of the intercooler.